Ohio justice: division over death penalty expected

Published: April 16, 2014 7:20AM

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court says divisions about the death penalty on a panel that spent more than two years studying capital punishment in the state were to be expected.

Justice Maureen O'Connor said Tuesday that diametrically opposed positions and divisive topics were a healthy part of the panel's work.

The panel convened in 2011 by O'Connor finalized its recommendations last week and now awaits a dissenting report from prosecutors on the committee who disagreed with some proposals.

Recommendations include reducing the number of crimes eligible for the death penalty and creating a statewide board that would have the final say over death penalty charges in the state.

O'Connor says the committee's goal was a fair analysis of Ohio's 3-decade old capital punishment law.